Day 4 – Jun 25, 2019 Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

We took taxi from hotel to Sao Paulo Aeroporto GRU and it’s one of the most outrageous ripoff of all time.  The trip took less than 50 minutes but costed 170 Reals (61 CDN)!  No wonder ride hailing apps are all the rage in Brazil.  Our flight to Foz do Iguacu was booked several months ago with Avianca Brazil, one of the premier airlines in the region we thought since Avianca is a big airline in South America.  To our surprise, while I was checking for the flight status last night, we found the airline had shut down and went bankrupt since early June and we did not even get any courtesy email warning.  We were extremely lucky to be able to quickly book with LATAM for the same route at similar departure time although the ticket price is now more than triple!  Had we not known this the night before, can you imagine our shock when we show up at the airport and find the whole airline went kaput and the mad scramble that follows?

Iguazu Falls lies between Brazil and Argentina.  It is the biggest waterfall system in the world by a thousand percent!  In fact, Iguazu Falls comprise of over 275 waterfalls on two levels along a 2.7 km length.  Most of the Iguazu River flows inside Brazil but near Argentina border, the river tumbles over and along the Parana Plateau, forming these famous waterfalls.  Although there are waterfalls on the Brazilian side, most of the waterfalls are located on the Argentinian side.  Both countries have established national parks to protect this environment and have built extensive trail systems for tourists.

After our arrival at the Foz do Iguacu (IGU) airport, we took the local city bus to the Brazil National Park with our luggage since the park is very close to the airport.  They provide big lockers for this purpose.  Apparently, many tourists only come here for a day trip (arrive in the morning and fly out in the evening) and don't even stay for a night!  How they can do this and claim they have seen the falls is beyond me.  After paying admission, we had to ride on a double decker bus for about 20 mins to get to the actual falls where we started our hike along the canyon wall along the river.  As we hiked, we could hear the water thundering sound getting louder and louder.  The waterfalls on the Argentina side provided a beautiful backdrop for our initial batch of photos.  The trail ended at the Brazil side of Garganta do Diabo (the Devil’s Throat), a huge waterfall that tumbles down the cliff and the water mist from the splash guarantees to soak anyone who dares to walk close to it.  The feeling of seeing such natural wonder is simply amazing.  We were totally awestruck by such display of Nature’s power as we were surrounded by waterfalls everywhere we looked.  We read that the mist formed by these waterfall is so intense that it creates its own micro-climate.

Arrival at Foz do Iguacu airport

Our first glance at the Iguazu Falls (Argentina side)

The scenery just gets better and better

Camera is not wide enough to capture the whole scene

Even panoramic shot cannot do it

On the left is Brazil side's Devil's Throat.  The falls on the right are on the Argentina side

Panoramic view as we walked closer to the Brazil side of Devil's Throat

Getting ready to get soaked

Rainbow over the Iguazu Falls

Looking at all the falls on Argentina side (and being soaked by falls on Brazil side)

Behind is the Devil's Throat on Argentina side (going there tomorrow)

Devil's Throat on Brazil side

What a feeling!

We don't even mind being soaked!

It feels like we have arrived at the edge of the world!

Admiring the Brazil side Devil's Throat from the side

Words cannot describe the awesomeness of being so close to such powerful display of Nature

Panoramic view from Brazil side

View of Devil's Throat (on the right) from river level

Panoramic view from Brazil side (river level)

Parque das Aves is a bird rescue park located just next to the Brazil National Park.  We spent two hours walking the trail inside to look at all the beautiful birds flying in huge enclosures.  I did not know there are so many kinds of macaws and it’s just magnificent to watch these big birds talking to each others and flying around.  We also saw four toucans and countless parrots.

Very worthwhile Bird Park to visit just outside of Brazil Iguacu National Park

Red cranes in flamingo pen

Toucan flying around you inside enclosure

Can you spot both toucans on this tree?

Another toucan species - Aracari

Macaws flying wild in its enclosure.  They like to walk on the ground

Macaw comes with many different color combinations

This ostrich like giant bird, Southern Cassowary, is from Africa.  An original inhabitant of this park

Try to spot all the different macaws and parrots in this picture

After checking in our hotel near the bus terminal, we finally had the chance to try the famous Brazilian all you can eat BBQ.  It’s a very reasonable price at 40 Reals (14 CDN) per person.  It comes with a huge salad bar with all kinds of salads, rice, potato, meat dishes, fruits, and desserts to start.  Then the waiters would walk around carrying different BBQ meats on a giant skewer.  If you are interested, you will get a slice of the meat.  It did not take long for us to be full with all these steaks, ribs, chicken, pork, roast beef,… etc.  It was a fun experience and the only complaint we have is that most of the beef were overcooked.

Calling all meat lovers!  You will love Brazilian BBQ restaurant where the meat is endless!